The War and Democracy eBook

of course, valuable, but will not greatly affect the
industrial situation. Even if the schemes sanctioned
by the Local Government Board and those adopted by
the Road Board were put into operation immediately,
which is almost impossible, they would not make a
very appreciable difference to the total wages bill
of the country. But perhaps it is thought by
the Government that the state of employment is not
sufficiently grave to warrant a greater expenditure
at the present time. In spite of the insistence
on forestalling destitution, there is still among
local authorities much confusion of charity and relief
work with anticipation of future needs calling for
employment through the ordinary channels of trade.
On the whole the Government has not met the domestic
problems of the war with the unanimity and boldness
which has characterised its actions in the actual
prosecution of the war and in dealing with the financial
crisis.

4. The New Spirit.—­The broader social
effects which showed themselves in the early days
of the war are illustrated by the remarkable growth
of State Socialism. The nation became a community,
united in a single purpose; breaches which many imagined
to be permanent, cleavages which were thought to be
fundamental, no longer existed. None was for a
party; all were for the State. The three political
parties formed a Parliamentary Recruiting Committee,
and altogether impossible teams of people appeared
on public platforms with a common aim; Mr. Ben Tillett,
in words that might have fallen from the lips of a
Tory ex-Cabinet minister, declared that “every
resource at our command must be utilised for the purpose
of preserving our country and nation”; the anti-militarist
trade union movement earnestly appealed to those of
its members who were ex-non-commissioned officers
to re-enlist; the Queen and Miss Mary MacArthur were
members of the same committee. This unanimity,
which has pushed into the background for the present
causes of difference, has led the vast majority of
people to submit cheerfully to the will of the State.
The unity of to-day must necessarily make its influence
felt even when the reason of its existence has passed
away. In the meantime it is assisting in the growth
of a new spirit which the war itself has fostered.
The social outlook of the people and their attitude
towards the larger problems of life is changing, and
patriotism has taken a deeper meaning.

So far we have devoted our attention to some of the
immediate effects of the war. But on the return
of peace there will be new influences at work, the
immediate and ultimate effects of which will powerfully
affect the course of future development. The
European War will mark an era in international politics.
It may also stand as a landmark in the history of
the social and economic life of Western Europe.
It is not unlikely that in this respect it will surpass
in its importance all the wars of the past. The
reasons are to be found in the magnitude and costliness